


i’ve been a forest fire, i am a forest fire

by lilaclavenders



Series: a burning hill [4]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: But emphasis on the comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pillow Talk, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, Zuko not knowing the concept of unconditional love, very cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:27:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26096347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilaclavenders/pseuds/lilaclavenders
Summary: “What do you want, Zuko?”Zuko blinks, and his hand is buried in Sokka’s hair, gently twisting strands. He breathes deeply, sighing as his lungs fill with a sharp heat, which itself is a sharper reminder.“Well?” Sokka asks, turning his head to face Zuko, desperate. Zuko retracts his hand as if he’s been burned.One conversation out of many that Sokka will have to start with Zuko in the hopes that one day he’ll start one himself.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: a burning hill [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1894720
Comments: 18
Kudos: 257





	i’ve been a forest fire, i am a forest fire

**Author's Note:**

> oh god i’ve missed these boys so much, but to write them to mitski’s lyrics? i’m so sorry 
> 
> definitely not beta read

“What do you want, Zuko?”

Zuko blinks, and his hand is buried in Sokka’s hair, gently twisting strands. He breathes deeply, sighing as his lungs fill with a sharp heat, which itself is a sharper reminder.

“ _Well_?” Sokka asks, turning his head to face Zuko, desperate. Zuko retracts his hand as if he’s been burned.

“You know what I want,” Zuko murmurs, biting his cheek, he wants to look away but he can’t even bring himself to do that. “Peace, prosperity-“

“No,” Sokka says, frowning. “That’s not what I’m talking about.” His mouth twists as if he’s eaten something sour. 

“I owe it to the people,” Zuko huffs, watching his breath puff into a cloud. 

“You don’t owe your entire existence to the people,” Sokka huffs back in amusement. “You’re in my arms, in my bed...” His smile drops into something softer, intimate. “Zuko, I wanna know what all of...” He gestures vaguely, “What all of this means.” 

“I don’t know,” Zuko nervously admits. “I just know that I like this- _You_ \- I mean- It’s complicated.”

“It’s not,” Sokka replies, squeezing his eyes shut. “You either want it, or you don’t,” He unwraps himself from Zuko and sits on the edge of the bed, shoulders slumped. “Fight for it, or you don’t.”

“I have responsibilities, Sokka.” Zuko reasons, frowning. He grabs Sokka’s hand, warms it up with his own. “I owe it to everyone.”

“It’s so obvious how afraid you are, you’re hiding behind your big, old Firelord title,” Sokka replies, unimpressed. “I know you have problems and issues I can’t even imagine, but you don’t have to make life harder for yourself, your life is yours.”

Zuko feels like he should be angry, but he’s never managed to piece together his feelings quite as well as this. “I’m not-“

“You don’t have to feel selfish or guilty, you know?” Sokka squeezes Zuko’s hand. He looks back momentarily and says, “You can have a life where you let yourself be loved, and it won’t be because you’ve fulfilled obligations.”

“And what if I’m not worth that? What if you’re wrong?” Zuko asks, trying not to curl into himself. “I was born into this life for a reason.”

Sokka frustratedly grumbles, “You can’t just spend your life worrying about what ifs and fate!” He takes a deep breath. “Look, I know you’ve spent too much time worrying about how to earn everyone’s love and forgiveness...” He twists his body around, and looks directly into Zuko’s eyes, a dazzling blue in the light of the moon. “But you don’t have to do that with us, with _me_.

“I don’t?” Zuko timidly asks.

”No, you don’t.”

Zuko thinks of his mother, and the way she kissed his head for the very last time before she ran off into the night. He is reminded of how his Uncle stayed beside him the years he had been branded unworthy.

“You really are hopeless sometimes,” Sokka says, flicking Zuko’s forehead, effectively interrupting his train of thought. “You don’t have to earn any of that stuff from me. Zuko, you already have it,” Sokka chuckles quietly, shaking his head with a soft exasperation. 

“Oh,” Zuko says, eyes glistening. “And ouch.”

“So, what are you going to do about it?” Sokka asks, with a hopeful grin and Zuko can already feel himself smiling too.

“For now?” Zuko replies, and he pulls Sokka back into bed with a gentle kiss. “This.”

* * *


End file.
